The present invention relates to a dispensing device of washing agents for a dishwashing machine.
As known, washing machines are usually fitted with a dispensing device of washing agents, namely powder and/or liquid detergents and additives; typically, the latter consist of softening media for laundry washing machines and rinse aids for dishwashing machines.
In the instance of a dishwasher, the washing agents dispenser usually comprises a body made from plastic material, partially built-in in one of the vertical surfaces delimiting the washing tub of the machine; in most cases, this vertical wall is the dishwasher inner door, i.e. the side of the machine front loading door facing inside the washing tub.
In its front area, the above body delimits a compartment with a closing cover for containing a certain amount of solid washing agent, usually powder or in the form of a tablet, as required for executing a wash cycle.
A tank is also provided inside the dispenser body for containing a second liquid washing agent, typically a rinse aid; in general, this tank has the capacity for containing a sufficient amount of liquid agent to execute several wash cycles; thus, the machine user has only to fill the tank periodically, through a proper hole with a closing plug.
A small chamber inside the dispenser is associated to the above tank for dosing the amount of rinse aid to be dispensed during a wash cycle; to this purpose, the dosing system of the rinse aid uses the opening-closing movement of the machine door, i.e. horizontal in its open position and vertical in its closed position, for filling some of the rinse aid from the tank to the dosing chamber; during machine operation, a programmer or timer operates an actuator to release a discharge outlet in line with the dosing chamber, and let the dose of rinse aid flow from the latter into the washing tub of the dishwasher.
According to the technique previously known, the dispenser is assumed to be fastened to the dishwasher door, in order to utilize its opening-closing movement for dosing the rinse aid required for a wash cycle; this is the reason why application of these dispensers is actually restricted to washing machines with a tilting door around a horizontal axis.
Moreover, due to the above reasons the dispenser is normally designed to have both the opening of the compartment containing the washing agent and the plug of the rinse-aid tank directed upwards, when the machine door is open. Thus, after the door has reached its horizontal position, the user can fill the above compartment with the washing agent, close its cover and fill the rinse-aid in the relevant tank through the proper plug, if required; after these operations the user can close the machine door again and start the wash cycle.
The technique previously known requires filling of the washing agent and rinse aid with the machine door open, i.e. in a rather uncomfortable position for the user.
Some known washing machines are not fitted with a tilting loading door, but the latter is sliding linearly on appropriate guides; specifically for a twin-basket dishwashing machine, reference can be made to the solution described in FR-A-2.674.426; vice-versa, in other known solutions, the dishwasher has only one basket designed like a sliding drawer for containing the crockery to be washed, where the front wall actually represents the machine door.
Also in these machines the washing agents dispenser is either fastened to the machine door or anyway to a wall or vertical surface delimiting the washing tub; as a result, the dispenser is always laying on the same resting plane, independently from the door open-closed condition.
The dispensers applied to these machines usually have a housing seat for a container open upwards, which is partially tilting and hinged to the lower end. This container can be partially extracted from its seat when inclining it outside the dispenser body, so as to fill it with the dose of solid washing agent; a reverse movement of the container will bring it back to its housing seat delimited in the dispenser body.
As regards the liquid washing agent, the dispenser body can be fitted in its upper section with a plug for closing a duct in communication with the rinse-aid tank; in alternative, the plug seat can be appropriately shaped for filling the rinse-aid from above even if departing from the front surface of the dispenser.
However, also these solutions are uncomfortable for the user; substantially, this is due to the need of having minimized overall dimensions of the dispenser, so that the dispenser body section protruding towards the washing tub will not detract space to the housing of the baskets containing the crockery or to the crockery itself; as a result, the filling port of the rinse-aid and its relevant plug have very small dimensions, making it uncomfortable and difficult for the user to add rinse-aid to the tank.